The industry awaits, with a laser focus, the appointment of the lead for Bond 26 who unfortunately will not be Idris Elba. As it has become common knowledge now, the English actor has backed out of the race to become the next James Bond. Elba, 49, does not meet the current criteria set by the Bond producers, despite his position as the favorite candidate and critical fan demand. With time, he has become somewhat more vocal about the reasons for his premature abdication.
Idris Elba Reveals That Bond Wasn’t His Choice
In a surprising revelation in the latest episode of The Shop, the Luther actor and Marvel veteran, Idrissa Akuna Elba, professionally known as Idris Elba, spilled why he backed out of the Bond race even though he was one of the top contenders. The English actor would have made history if he was in fact chosen as the lead for Bond 26, instead the flurry of new and younger actors that the franchise production favored over him drove the final nail to the coffin.
However, this was not the official reason for Elba’s resignation, although elementary rumors did circulate that dropping out was a matter of hurt pride for him. In The Shop episode, the actor was directly faced with the ubiquitous question, to which he responded,
“It is not a goal for my career. I don’t think that playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals. It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go, ‘Bond.'”
Idris Elba Lays Out His Formulating Michael Jordan Script
Instead of fulfilling what Elba deemed as “the will of a nation”, he is busy laying the foundations for what he sincerely wants to be a Michael Jordan movie. The actor already has the skeletal idea for what he wants to portray differently about an already televised and hyper-famous life of NBA legend and one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game, Michael Jordan.
“It isn’t about the hooping, it’s about Michael Jordan, the businessman. If I was gonna dissect a story about him, it wouldn’t be about the hooping because nobody wants to see someone pretend to do moves we’ve seen all day.”
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Although it does sound like a breakthrough idea, Jordan has not yet handed the rights to his life’s story to Elba, which unfortunately means that this is another no for the actor and thespian.
